Training – Conversations About Suicide (2-Day Workshop: 8/7 & 8/8)

Schedule:

This is a two-day, eight-hour virtual training. We will meet on Wednesday 8/7 and Thursday 8/8 from 12:30-4:30pm ET each day. We will take two 15-minute breaks during each training session. Participants must attend each session in full to receive a certificate of completion.

Description:

In this participatory workshop, we’ll explore ways to practice empathy and prioritize autonomy when engaging in conversations about suicide. We’ll spend time unpacking suicide as a language of pain, then consider ways to support folks who are thinking about dying. Through sharing personal stories, opening up dialogue, and practicing difficult conversations, we will educate and support each other to remain curious, lean into discomfort, and center mutuality.

This training is fairly interactive, so think about what you’ll need to stay present and engaged throughout each session. We ask that participants have cameras on for the majority of the time, though understand if you need to be off camera for a short amount of time. If you have any accessibility needs, please let us know on the registration form.

Objectives:

+Practice empathy for people considering suicide

+Increase comfort with talking about suicide

+Practice having conversations about suicide

+Explore suicide as a social justice issue

+Deepen awareness of why people consider suicide

+Consider ways to restore dignity to crisis

Audience:

+ Peer support workers and other service providers working in a variety of social services settings

+Medical professionals and emergency responders

+Community members who want to provide better support to people considering suicide

+Family and friends of people considering suicide

+People with lived experience of suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts

Platform:

We will be using Zoom for the training sessions. The link will be shared with you via email prior to the training. Please arrive on time each day so that we can start each session promptly. There will be a waiting room and we will open the room at the start time.

This offering from Pathways Vermont Training Institute is sponsored by Vermont’s Peer Workforce Development Initiative and free of charge to participants. Please contact [email protected] with any questions.